Batting 300, Part I

Ted liked to ride the rodeo, it made him feel alive inside, but he never had that much luck taking bulls on eight-second rides. He wanted to reign like his friends, take home some of the prize money, so he doubled-down and he placed, made the top three regularly. Still, he did not top the rankings, dnd he was not so pleased with that, until the day a small cowboy came to ask for Ted’s autograph. Stunned at the sheer admiration in the eyes of that tyke tow-head, Ted supposed that he should be glad, not many men bat .300. Pedro had a gift for making sales, he could sell sand to desert states, was going for a big bonus, the money he could almost taste. But it went to a co-worker, who had notched up just two more sales, Pedro went home in a foul mood, to his girlfriend, and he railed. Until he heard a phone message, fe brother Juan had been let go from his baseline clerical job, he he’d survive, he didn’t know. Juan had barely made thirty K, so Pedro could no longer see red, and thanked God he still had the chance to go out and hit .300. Chen was said to be the smartest person in all of his high school, the kind of knowledge that made all of his teachers appear to be fools. At the Physics Olympiad he thought he’d be regional best, but Chen’s ego was smashed that day, he only came in second-best. You have to see a geek enraged to appreciated it fully, then getting fast-food driving home, Chen ran into his old bully! The job had truly beaten him down, and later when Chen went to bed, he felt quite thankful that his mind was able to bat .300... CONCLUDES IN PART II.